A new spin on the classic smart-girl-and-bad-boy setup, this witty contemporary romance shows how easily a friendship – even one built on an elaborate lie – can become so much more.

Jenny meets Chance for the very first time when she is assigned as his partner in their Junior Oral Communications class. But after they rescue a doomed assignment with one clever lie, the whole school is suddenly convinced that Little-Miss-Really-Likes-Having-A’s and the most scandalous heartbreaker in school have been best friends forever. It’s amazing how quickly a lie can grow―especially when you really, really want it to be the truth.

With Jenny, Chance can live the normal life he’s always kind of wanted. And with Chance, Jenny can have the exciting teen experiences that TV shows and movies have always promised. Through it all, they hold on to the fact that they are “just friends.” But that might be the biggest lie of all.

Debut author Tiffany Pitcock delivers a spot-on depiction of first love and the high school rumor mill in Just Friends, chosen by readers like you for Macmillan’s young adult imprint Swoon Reads.

As a debut novel, it was pretty good. The subjects broached here are real and hard to deal with and I think Pitcock really treated them with respect and care.

The book starts off a little oddly. Immediately, we have a sense of who the characters are and we get a odd game of pretend. It’s weird. I can’t really see a “good girl” and a “bad boy” doing that together and doing it well. That being said, you immediately see some of the chemistry the characters have with each other. Broaching the subject of “bad boy” and “good girl”, I can’t say they needed the labels. Chance was kind of a player, but there was nothing really “bad” about him. This definitely wasn’t a Katie McGarry sitch where the he’s part of a gang or the wrong side of town, he was just hot and girls liked him. Back to their chemistry though, the characters played off each other well, and I felt like their relationship was really natural.

The story itself was good. Labels aside, the characters were pretty down to earth and seeing into their worlds really brought the story to life. My heart actually hurt for some of them, ’cause honestly life sucks, but they dealt with it well enough. To be honest though, a lot of the story and problems the characters had could have easily been solved with this magical thing called communication. It was all just assumptions, overheard conversations, and jealousy, though I guess that’s kind of what high school is anyway. I don’t know guys, was high school really like this for you guys??

One thing that always drives me bananas is when the protag ditches her best friend for a guy. I get that it was a little different here, but her best friend plays a very peripheral role in this book, and she even states that she never sees Jenny anymore.

After typing all that out, you wouldn’t know what’s good about that novel, but honestly, there was something in the writing that kept me reading. The chemistry between the characters is great and the banter is funny, and as a whole, this book made me feel for the characters and their experiences. Is it a little cliche, sure. Is it super deep, not really. But I think it’s a good book to keep you company because you can’t help but smile while reading it.

I was born and raised in Arkansas, which isn’t terribly exciting. I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I used to sit in class and write stories in my notebooks, thinking that everyone did. It turns out, everyone didn’t. I love writing because it means I’m putting my thoughts, feelings, and soul out there for someone else to read – for someone else to feel. The fact that someone can read my words, and empathize with my characters – characters that wouldn’t exist with out me, that I created from my mind – is such a wonderful concept to me. I could happily write for the rest of my life as long as there was one person out there who was affected by my words.